Without Dre, there would be no hip-hop, at least not as we know it. In the late ‘80s, he parted the bicoastal waters with the turned-up agitprop of N.W.A., while his solo debut, 1992's The Chronic, let the bombast and swagger of hip-hop sit in the Cali sunshine, lending the sounds a rich, rounded languor. Whether we're talking about the lightning-bolt funk of “Still D.R.E.” or the rumbling club thunder of "Forgot About Dre," this is foundational and elemental music, created by one of the genre's key architects.